Research and technology transfer in Terrestrial Ecology
NATURAL SYSTEMS HELP MITIGATE CLIMATE CHANGE Climate change is a complex process which results in a simple phenomenon: the mean temperature of the planet is increasing due to our emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gasses to the atmosphere. Through photosynthesis, plants, algae, and some bacteria take in and temporarily store part of this atmospheric carbon, although not enough to compensate what we continue to emit. Catalonian forests, for example, compensate only 8,5% of our CO2 emissions, and we would need 11 times more forest surface area to compensate the full 100%.
DROUGHT REDUCES THE ABILITY TO CAPTURE CO2 With climate change, episodes of severe drought have also increased in the Iberian Peninsula. In the humid northern and northeastern peninsular forests, these droughts are reducing the capacity of plants to grow and accumulate carbon, while in the most arid zones hardly any effect has been noticed. This is due to the fact that in the humid regions we find forest species which actually have their origin in the center and north of Europe, and which are not very accustomed to living with little available water. This is especially important because the humid peninsular forests are those which currently capture the most carbon from the atmosphere.
Foto: JL Ord贸帽ez
CARBON & CLIMATE CHANGE Distribution of carbon stored in peninsular Spanish forest soils. The mountainous areas of the north, where humid forests are found, are those which accumulate the most carbon.
Carbon stock in forest soils (kg/m2) 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22
FOREST MANAGEMENT COULD IMPROVE CO2 CAPTURE A scheme of forest management which maximizes the accumulation of carbon (in other words, maximum plant growth) could increase the role which forests, shrubland, and fields play in fighting climate change. One option would be not to log forests and allow them to reach maturity. Another would be to promote an irregular forest structure, since the combination of different trunk diameters improves overall forest growth. Also, when possible, mixed forests of conifers and hardwoods should be favored, since this way light is better used. Whatever the case, it is recommended that the period between loggings be increased in order to increase the residence time of carbon in the plant.
Foto: JL Ordóñez
In the period between the two Spanish national forest inventories (IFN2 and IFN3) the mean temperature of the growing season for plants (March-August) increased +1 °C in relation to the average value of the previous 30 years. The range of average warming throughout the Iberian Peninsula oscillated between -0.15 °C y +2 °C.
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LINES OF RESEARCH RELATED TO CARBON AND CLIMATE CHANGE
CREAF’S RELATED PROJECTS
Ecological and forest inventories. CREAF has a long history in the design and development of ecological and forest inventories. Many of the ecological variables proposed by CREAF have been afterwards implemented in the Spanish national forest inventories throughout the country. The Catalonia Unique Forest Inventory was undertaken with citizen participation.
CARBOSTOCK: Precise estimation of carbon stocks in forests and shrubland using LIDAR remote sensing technology.
Quantification of stored carbon and ecosystem capacity to absorb carbon. We quantify the accumulation and dynamics of carbon in ecosystems and we evaluate the effects of management and disturbance on the capacity of ecosystems to continue incorporating carbon. Models simulating and predicting carbon absorption in future scenarios. At CREAF we have developed different models to simulate ecosystems’ capacity of carbon absorption and to make projections about how this capacity will change in function of the most likely scenarios of climate change and global change, in the medium and long term. Species’ vulnerability to climate change. We evaluate the vulnerability of distinct forest species to the effects of climate change by annually monitoring the state of forests and correlation with climatic and environmental data. This knowledge is fundamental for the establishment of adequate adaptation strategies.
CONTACT
Jordi Vayreda / Researcher
SUMIDEROS: Evaluation of the stock and dynamics of carbon in Mediterranean forest ecosystems undergoing regeneration. MONTES: Spanish mountains and global change: threats and opportunities. DEBOSCAT: RCatalonia forest decline monitoring network.
RELATED PRODUCTS & SERVICES Book: Conservar Aprovechando. http://www.creaf.uab.es/montes/ Conservar_Aprovechando_WEB.pdf
MiraBosc on-line: Public data from the Forest Inventories. http://www.creaf.cat/sibosc/ programari.htm
j.vayreda@creaf.uab.es
CREAF. Edificio C. Campus UAB. 08193 Bellaterra. Spain. www.creaf.cat
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